Trade Your Fate
by Umi
Summary: What lengths does Aya go to in order to wake his sister...? (Finished!! Umi is NOT spoiling the ending in the summary!!)
1. Please Wake Up...

*****************************  
  
Hey, everybody....Umi hasn't written in a while...(this is partially because she had no inspiration and partially because she is lame.) If you read Confusion, yes I AM working on another piece but I haven't been able to get it quite right...Anyhow, I hope you enjoy the story!! Read on....*scroll, scroll*  
  
I do not own Weiss Kreuz!!  
  
*************************  
  
Trade Your Fate  
  
*************************  
  
He sat next to the hospital bed silently. No need to talk, really...SHE wasn't listening. Or would she even care to, if she was awake? She lay there quietly, sleeping soundly and unmoving. You wouldn't really call it sleep but the girl wasn't dead, either, so sleep applied fairly well. The red-head reached up a hand to fiddle with his long, golden earring...Technically, it wasn't his at all. He was just borrowing it.  
  
He gazed down at the sleeping girl sorrowfully. For two years his only wish had been to see her awake, once more, and full of life. To see her smile, and shout to him cheerfully. Aya absently began to tug on the earring as these thoughts passed through his mind. He dropped his arm to his side, becoming engaged in his thoughts. Having his dear sister awake sounded so wonderful...he would give anthing for that to happen. Waiting wouldn't accomplish anything; he had to do whatever it took to wake her...  
  
The man stood up slowly, and strolled over to fuss with the flowers he had just brought that day; roses. He straightened the arrangement a bit before turning back to her and whispering, "I'll come see you again soon, Aya-chan."   
  
*************************  
  
Aya stepped out into the hallway of the hospital. It was rather barren. He had stayed a bit later than he had originally planned; it was already four. He strolled silently towards the stairs, not looking back.   
  
"Hey, there!" He stopped abruptly on the steps, realizing that someone was adressing him. He looked over his shoulder to find a man at the top of the steps, looking down at him nonchalantly. He was dressed in a black bussiness suit, his short black hair and dark eyes gleaming. "You got a minute?"   
  
Aya's expression turned into a hard glare. "No." He turned back around and began his descent once more.  
  
"...So, then you don't want to hear what I've got to say?" Aya didn't answer the man as he drew nearer to the bottom of the stairs. "What if I said it was about your sister?"   
  
He froze and snapped around, back up the staircase in a split-second. He grabbed a wad of the man's starched shirt in his fist. "...What about my sister?" he growled. The stranger kept a cool expression as he looked the fierce red-head in the eye.  
  
"You want her to wake up, right?" Aya snorted.  
  
"Who are you?" The man displayed a friendly grin.  
  
"Think of me as a sort of..." he paused, "...friend. I'm here to help you." Aya looked away, dropping the man's shirt. "That's better," the man continued, dusting himself off and straightening his collar.  
  
"You can't help me." The bussiness man grinned again.  
  
"Are you so sure?" Aya grunted. "...All you wish is for her to wake up, am I right?" The red-head didn't respond as he turned his back on the man. "Ah, so I AM right."  
  
"Why would you care?" he asked coldly, turning back to the man.   
  
"What if I told you I could wake her up?"   
  
"I wouldn't believe you." The black-haired man smiled at the assassin's stoic expression.  
  
"You'd want to believe me." The stranger stuffed his hands in his pockets, turning to look down the hall towards Aya-chan's room. "I really can help, but only if you want me to." He moved to lock gazes with the taller man, face serious. "Do you want my help, or not?"  
  
"...How can you wake her?" The man smiled.  
  
"I thought you'd be asking that. I'm sorry, but I can't tell you."   
  
Aya glared. "Fine."  
  
He glanced up to the man's purple eyes once more. "So you want my help?"  
  
"I never said I wanted it." The pale skinned man grinned at the stubborn red-head, who was still glaring at him.   
  
"Come on."  
  
*************************  
  
They entered Aya-chan's hospital room wordlessly. Aya continually glared at the dark-haired man, just in case he tried anything funny. He still couldn't believe he was going along with this nut...But it just seemed too good to resist...Aya-chan could come out of her deep slumber after so long...  
  
"If you want me to wake her up for you," the black-haired man began, "you'll have to agree to the circumstances."   
  
"Fine."   
  
"..You sure you want to agree so easily?" He nodded briefly at the man in response, then turned to the girl asleep in bed. "Then she'll wake up."  
  
The red-head turned back towards the man, but found no one there. The guy had vanished into thin air. He glanced around the empty room in confusion, then directed his gaze back towards his sister. She still slept soundly in bed, slightly messy braids squished against the pillow behind her head.  
  
Frustrated, he sat down in his usual spot by her bedside. The black-haired man hadn't even left his name, not that Aya had asked him for it. How could that man have known about him, and his younger sister? He cursed himself for not giving the guy an inquisition. Aya-chan wasn't waking up anyhow. Nothing was happening.   
  
He sighed, begining to feel extremely sleepy. He scooted his chair a bit closer to the bed, eyeing his little sister's sleeping form for any signs of life, soon to discover that his eyes refused to stay open. Idly, he wondered how he could become so exhausted all of a sudden...it was only about four-thirty in the afternoon, too. Against his will, his eyelids slammed shut over tired plum orbs. The red-head's tall frame slumped fowards as he leaned over, resting his upper body on the bed near his sister and falling right asleep.  
  
***************************  
  
A set of glazed eyes opened slowly, peering up at the ceiling in confusion. The girl reached a hand up to rub the sleep out of her eyes, wondering what had happened. The last thing she could remember was...?  
  
She sat straight up in bed, glancing around nervously. She was in a hospital. It took her but a second more to notice the other person in the room; a single man with his arms curled under his head, sleeping on the edge of her bed. Startled, she drew away from the figure.  
  
The girl gave herself a mental slap for not thinking as she eyed the red hair of the one on her bed. She smiled and reached out to shake the figure. "Ran? Ran!! Wake up!" Her smile faded as she shook his shoulder with increasing force, growing worried. He wasn't moving. She peeled him off of the sheets, noticing that he looked different...older...noticably older. A glint of gold also caught her eye, seeing the earring that hung in the midst of his crimson locks. The other one was pressed into her palm.  
  
"Ran..." she breathed. He was out cold. Aya began to panic while pulling her brother's head into her lap. She touched his cheek; it felt a little cooler than it should be. "Hello!! Anyone!!" she called in the direction of her open door, totally panicked. A nurse rushed into the doorway, looking shocked.   
  
"...Y-you're awake?" she stuttered. Aya gave her an indignant look.  
  
"Of course I am!! Now help me!!" The nurse shook her head.  
  
"I'm sorry, what's the matter?" The girl looked down to her brother sadly.  
  
"He won't wake up..."  
  
************************  
  
The ringing of the phone could only be heard faintly from the flower-shop, but it was noticable. Omi looked up from the cash register, realizing that not the flower-shop phone, but their private phone was ringing.   
  
"I'll get it!!" he called to Ken and Yohji as he ran to pick it up. Ken looked on after the boy as he exited.  
  
"I wonder who's calling...?" he mumbled. Yohji leaned back in his chair.  
  
"Who knows...? Maybe that salesman, again..." He snorted. That guy had called so many times already, asking if they wanted a subscription to the newspaper. It was really annoying, considering that they already HAD a subscription to the newspaper...  
  
Ken stepped a bit closer to the door Omi had left through to get the phone, trying to hear a bit of the conversation. He had no problem as the hacker's voice grew louder:  
  
"What? What hapened to him?...How can't you?...No, I'm a freind..." Growing suspicious, the brunette strolled a bit closer to Omi. The boy had his hand curled around the reciever as he held it close to his ear. "W-we'll come down there...Yes, more friends...Thank you..." The boy hung up the phone, spun around, and slammed into Ken like a run-away bullet-train.   
  
"Omi!! Calm down!!" he grabbed the boy by the shoulders, noticing him grow pale. "Who was that?"  
  
"T-the hospital.." he stuttered, looking a bit overloaded.  
  
"...What did they say?" he asked hesitantly, fearing the answer.   
  
"Something's wrong with Aya-kun..."  
  
************************  
  
"Fujimiya Aya." The woman behind the desk tilted her reading glasses down to look at the three men.   
  
"Fourth floor." She looked at them with suspicion. "Are you three...friends?"   
  
"Yeah." Omi managed a smile, feeling like the woman was trying to be rude. "...Thank you."  
  
The three of them made their way across the room to the elevator silently. Omi reached an arm out and hit the up arrow as Ken opened his mouth to speak.  
  
"Omi, do you know what's wrong with Aya?" The boy looked up from the floor, realizing that he was being spoken to.  
  
"...The person I talked to said 'suspiciously unconcious' and 'unresponsive'..."   
  
The elevator arrived just as he had finished his sentence. The doors flew open; the elevator was empty. The three men entered quietly, pondering what Omi had told them; no one had even asked as they hurried down to see if their commrade was all right.  
  
Ken reached out and pressed the button for the fourth floor. The silence in the small space was deafening before the ping of the elevator signaled their arrival on the correct level. The three of them stepped out of the elevator in a cluster, realizing that the fourth floor was pretty big...  
  
"That woman didn't tell us which room..." Ken pointed out.   
  
"No kidding..." Yohji muttered, gazing down one of the long hallways.   
  
"I'll ask someone," Omi told them, approaching a desk. He peeked over the top, ony to discover that there was no one at it.   
  
"Great..."   
  
"Let's just go look ourselves...this place couldn't be THAT big..." Yohji and Omi sighed in unison; the brunette seemed a little too sure of himself. "Omi and I can go this way-" he pointed down the hallway to the right of the group, "-and Yohji can go that way," he told them, directing the blonde down the opposite hallway. They nodded in agreement and then parted ways.  
  
Yohji made his way down the left hallway in silence, not like he had anyone to talk to...All of the rooms looked the same. He would stroll up and steal a glance inside before continuing on down the hall.   
  
'Old guy...old lady...young lady...Hmmm...' he thought to himself. '...Mother and kids...old guy...red-head...wait a minute, red-head?' He back-tracked a few steps and stared into the room once more. 'False alarm...' Red-headed girl.   
  
He went by about five more rooms before he noticed another head of red hair...'Bingo.' He stepped into the hospital room quietly; Aya lay in bed a few feet away. Yohji approached the side of the bed and peered down at the man, who was completely unconcious. His usal cold glare was not present as he slept, or stagnated, or whatever...  
  
"Hmm..."  
  
************************  
  
She made her way down the hall quickly; she was eager to get back to her older brother's bedside. This was one of those times that he needed her, and she wasn't about to let him down. Aya had memorized the route already, as the room she was currently in was only down the hall.  
  
The girl counted off the room numbers mentally until she came upon Ran's room, once more. She skipped inside, happy to be back to see her brother.   
  
"Yagh!!" she cried as she plowed into someone. Someone was in HER spot, right next to Ran's bed. The two of them fell to the floor in a tangled heap. She jumped up, face flushed in embarrassment as she noticed that she had just slammed into a guy....a cute blonde guy. "Y-You're in my spot!!" she stammered. The man looked up at her from over his sunglasses in confusion.   
  
"You come in here and knock me down, and then yell at me for being in your spot?" She blinked in response.  
  
"Wait a minute!! Who are you?! What are you doing in here?!" Aya huffed at him as he climbed to his feet.  
  
"Kudou Yohji, at your service..." he grinned, "I happen to be visiting someone." He dusted himself off and starightened his clothing a bit.  
  
"You don't look farmilliar to me..." she eyed him skeptically.  
  
"Yohji." The man's eyes flew to the doorway where an annoyed blonde boy and brunette stood. "Are you flirting again?"   
  
"Ch," he mumbled, "...you don't trust me at all..."   
  
"Oh," Omi said as he noticed Aya. She backed up a bit.  
  
"Ahhh, there's more of them!" Omi and Ken looked surprised. "Who are all of you people?"   
  
"Ken. Hidaka Ken." He grinned.  
  
"Tsukiyono Omi." The boy stuck out a hand and gave her a friendly smile. She shook it hesitantly. "What's your name?"  
  
"Oh, um, I'm Aya." She smiled a bit, remembering why she was in here. She swung back around and plopped down in her chair nex to her older brother's head. With her back turned, she couldn't see the blank stares that she was recieving from the three men.   
  
"...Aya? Your name's Aya?"   
  
"Yep," she answered. "I'm Ran's sister...Are you friends of his?" She turned to look back at them, awaiting an answer.  
  
"Ran...?" Ken asked quietly. "But, that's Aya, and you're Aya..." he looked confused as he glanced back and forth between the red-head and the girl.   
  
"I'm Aya, he's Ran." Ken blinked.  
  
"Yeah..."   
  
"Aya's sister is supposed to be comatose, isn't she?" Ken whispered to Omi. The hacker nodded.  
  
"Ran..." Yohji laughed quietly, turning to look out the window.  
  
"Do you know what happened to A-Ran...?" Omi asked her. She shook her head.  
  
"Nobody is sure...it looked like he was asleep, but he won't wake up..."  
  
*************************  
  
His eyes opened very slowly; things looked horribly blurry as he carefully lifed his head out of the grass...Grass? He glanced around, only to discover that he was in a green field, dotted with purple and yellow wildflowers. Climbing to his feet, he continued to eye the lovely field. It was sunny, there was no wind, and he was the only one there...errie...  
  
"Hey." He snapped around instanly, surprised to hear another's voice. Great. It was HIM again. The black-haired man gave a friendly smile. "Do you like having your sister awake?"  
  
"What are you talking about?" Aya snapped back at him.   
  
"...Do you know where we are?" The red-head glared at him. "We're experiencing your peace of mind."   
  
"Impossible. I have no peace of mind." The man laughed.  
  
"Well, I guess your wrong...Or maybe it only exists while you sleep."   
  
"Sleep...What's going on?" he demanded of the man. The guy raised his hands in a gesture of innocence.  
  
"All I did was what you wanted. Your sister is awake...Of course, you aren't." Aya's expression turned to one of shock. "Remember the cicumstances I had you agree to?"   
  
"Aa."  
  
"...You remember how you never asked what they were?" The assassin became frustrated and turned away from the man, gazing out at the endless blue sky and lush meadow. "Let me explain..."  
  
***************************  
  
(Tsuzuku!!) Yeah, only one part...No, it won't be too long, and I'll try to get the other half of Confusion done, too....*Umi has mental picture of herself juggling fanfiction* Ulk...Thanks for reading!!  



	2. I Don't Like It Here...

*****************************  
  
Hi people!! Back for more? Good to have you on the reviewers' panel!! Yes, reviewing is a very good habit to pick up...and if you aren't much of a reviewer, then humor me, here...^-^;  
  
I do not own Weiss Kreuz. (Wouldn't it be kewl if this were animated? @_@)  
  
*****************************  
  
Trade Your Fate::Act Two  
  
*****************************  
  
The redhead had his arms crossed, back to the black-haired man. He growled in frustration, impatiently awaiting an explanation. This was not supposed to be how things happened...His little sister's eyes would drift open as he watched expectantly and she would take one look at who was at her side, and wrap her arms around her brother...  
  
"So..." he began hesitantly, "...I was half-lying when I said I would wake your sister up." Aya remained silent, gazing out across the field. "...What I did...well, you could almost call it...trading fates. Basically, I switched your fate with that of your sister." The assassin turned to meet his gaze slowly, quickly diverting his eyes to the ground. His brow furrowed as he contemplated what he had been told.  
  
"That's why you aren't awake...you're actually in a coma. And your sister...she's with your friends..."  
  
"...My...friends..." he repeated slowly. Images floated throughout his head, pictures of the flower shop, Omi, Ken, Yohji...And then other images. Thoughts of those same friendly guys at night, killing next to him. Killing...  
  
'No!!' his mind screamed. He sank to his knees, trying to comprehend what was going on. If he was comatose, would Aya-chan become an assassin? 'No...' he told himself, grabbing fistfuls of the lush green grass. "...no..." he whispered, as everything faded away from his sight.  
  
****************************  
  
Omi was silent as he watched the girl play with her older bother's red eartails happily. She seemed so cheerful around Aya, even though he was unconscious...  
  
"...And when you wake up, we'll go for ice cream!! So you had better hurry, Ran!! I'm not waiting forever, cause I'll go find a boyfriend and have ice cream with him instead!!" She laughed.  
  
"Hmmm..." He turned to look at Yohji. "What do think he did?"  
  
"You mean, what happened to him, Yohji-kun?" he asked the blonde.  
  
"Same thing. You think it was--" he stopped abruptly, glancing to the chatty Aya-chan, who was completely absorbed in her conversation with her unresponsive brother. He motioned to Ken and Omi to follow him outside.  
  
"Erm, Aya, we'll be back in a while...okay?" Ken asked as he followed the other two assassins out the door.  
  
"Alright!" she chirped, not even glancing their way. The proceeded down the hall a little before stopping and turning to each other.  
  
"....Schwarz? You think?" Yohji began, carefully watching his friend's expressions for reactions. Omi turned his eyes towards the floor.  
  
"If it WAS Schwarz, what do you think they...did to him..." he flinched at his own words. Did to him?   
  
"It could've been anything, but I'm guessing that telepath messed with him." Ken crossed his arms, almost proud of his deduction skills.  
  
"But we don't know that Schwarz attacked him..." Omi reasoned. "He's unconscious....someone must have found him, or something...." he put a hand to his chin. "We should ask around to see what we can find out."  
  
**************************  
  
"Schuldich!!" Crawford bellowed in the direction of the door. "Come here!!" Turning back to the computer in front of him, he continued typing. Annoyed, he stopped his work and turned back to the door. "Schuldich!!" he called again. Receiving no answer, he climbed out of his chair and moved towards the door, looking out into the main room. "What are you doing?" he growled at the telepath.   
  
The German was unresponsive as he sat with his back towards the Schwarz-leader. Crawford wearily walked around to the other side of the orange-head. The man was perched on the couch eyes closed, sitting up straight and unmoving. Losing interest and deciding that Nagi would be a better candidate anyhow, he quitted the room, leaving Schuldich to his own...twisted...devices.  
  
***************************  
  
Mind cruising was a great way to kill time and boy it was entertaining....One of the German's favorite pastimes. He listened to the thoughts of one person after the next:  
  
'What should I do? He doesn't love me back!!'  
  
'...Great, I lost my job!! What do I tell my wife?!'  
  
'I want french fries soo badly right now....'  
  
'That woman stuffs her bra!! I can see it from here!!'  
  
The telepath laughed mentally, freaking out whoever's mind he was in. Man, this kinda thing could always get a laugh out of him. He grew tired of these regular people....Listening to the thoughts of the mentally tortured assassins, otherwise known as Weiss, was even more fun.   
  
He skimmed the conciousneses of all the people he could at his range, a bit disappointed to only find three little kittens...the loud guy, the playboy, the kid...Where the hell was number four? He cursed. The living ice-sculpture was great to screw with...  
  
He searched more carefully this time; he WOULD find the guy eventually. The fact that he couldn't find the red-head made Schuldich want to find him even more...Aha! He picked up the man's mind, only faintly. Either he was too far away from the last Weiss kitten, or he was unconscious. It was what, five 'o clock?   
  
He went deeper, letting himself fall into the mind of the swordsman. He could see a flash, and then a field materialized around him. Green grass and wildflowers. How charming. The orange-haired man glanced around nonchalantly, wondering where his victim could be. The grass only reached his ankles, but he could hardly see the shape of someone lying in the grass a few yards from him. Smirking, he strolled across the meadow towards the shape.   
  
Schuldich found himself looking down on the redheaded Weiss, who almost seemed to be asleep. His eyes were closed as he lay in the grass, arms behind his head. His violet eyes opened slowly.  
  
"What's doin, Weiss?" he smirked down on the man, who didn't really seem interested in the German's intrusion on his mind.   
  
"There's nothing here." He stated the words blankly, looking past the telepath into the blue sky.   
  
"We can change that..." the telepatah smirked evilly.   
  
Aya sat straight up in the grass. The field had burst into red flames, the blue sky now gray. He was surrounded by roaring flames with no where to go. The smoke stung his eyes and lungs as the heat made him feel as though he would suffocate. He broke into a coughing fit, completely forgetting that he was inside his own mind. He was imagining all of this. He fell to his knees...It was all so real, he could feel the leaping fire closing in on him. He shut his eyes tightly against the fire and smoke. Suddenly, he felt the heat disappear...his eyes snapped open, as he climbed to his feet. He was surrounded by blackness; Schuldich was no where to be seen.  
  
"That doesn't mean I left..." he laughed, the voice echoing through the endless dark.  
  
"Schwarz..!!" Aya growled. "Get out!!"  
  
"Heh...don't be so harsh...I really didn't care for that field and I know you didn't either." The redhead's face twisted with anger as the telelpath appeared in front of him. "The darkness suits us both much better..." he smirked.  
  
"Get. Out. Of. My. Mind." His expression held venom as he glared at the German.  
  
"I can stay here as long as I please." He shoved his hands in the pockets of his snow-white suit, turning to look around. He carefully contemplated possible reasons for the other assassin's mind to be in such a state; the pathetic thing wouldn't be quite so malleable if the Weiss was awake...And if he wasn't awake at five-thirty in the afternoon, he could be unconscious...He searched through a few coherent thoughts he found floating around, seeing mental pictures of a black-haired man offering to wake up Fujimiya's sister, and then saying that the Weiss-leader was comatose. A smirk crossed his face. "I think I've had my fun for now..." He continued smirking as he floated off of the proverbial "ground" a few feet and faded away into the nothingness that was Aya's train of thought, leaving the red-head alone in the darkness...  
  
******************************  
  
There was nothing here. There really wasn't anything there before, but now there was no grass, no sky, no flowers...The flowers had helped him escape, almost, the sweet scent taking him back to the Koneko No Sumu Ie...But here he was. Nowhere.   
  
Sighing, he went back to lying on his back, staring up into the darkness. He should've enjoyed the field while it was there...It would be like this for some time. He had to make the best of it. As long as his sister was awake, he trusted that his teammates wouldn't let her get herself into any sort of trouble...  
  
Yohji...Omi...Ken...How long had he been asleep? Aya remembered falling asleep on the side of his sister's hospital bed. By now, he was probably in one of his own...Had they come to see if he was all right? Had they even found out that he was comatose? Could they possibly be worried about him...? Aya had always taken his relationship with the other three members of Weiss for granted. It was a working relationship, not a friendship. They arranged flowers together, and they killed together. What else could there be?   
  
He wondered...did Yohji, Omi, and Ken think differently?  
  
******************************  
  
"Excuse me!!" Omi called after the doctor that had just left Aya's room.   
  
"Hmm?" The gray-haired doctor turned to Omi, slightly wrinkled face crumpling as he smiled. "Yes? What can I do for you?"   
  
"The man in that room-" he pointed back inside the door at the unconscious red-head "-is a friend of mine, and I was wondering if you could tell me what's wrong with him..." The doctor put a hand to his chin, brow wrinkling with the rest of his face as he held his clip-board up to look at it.  
  
"Well, he seems to be comatose, but we aren't exactly sure why..." he told Omi. "I think it was his sister who found him sleeping on the corner of her bed when she woke up..."  
  
"His sister?" the hacker inquired. The doctor nodded solemnly.  
  
"Very ironic, really...she had just come out of a coma, herself, when she discovered her older brother..."  
  
"Thank you very much," Omi told the man as he smiled, and gave a shallow bow before running off to find Ken and Yohji. The three had dispersed themselves to gather information from the hospital staff and the young assassin had hit the jackpot with that doctor...  
  
"Yohji-kun!!" he called as he ran down the hall towards the lanky blonde. The man looked up as the boy jogged up to him.   
  
"What's up, chibi?" Omi frowned.  
  
"I told you not to call me that, Yohji-kun..." he warned. "I talked to a doctor...he said that Aya-kun may be comatose." Yohji's sunglasses slid down his nose, revealing the surprise in his eyes.  
  
"Comatose...?"  
  
******************************  
  
"Aya-chan sat silently, having chatted herself into exhaustion. It wasn't the same to talk to her brother when he wouldn't answer her. It depressed her to see his pale skin look even more so in the oppressively white room. Earlier, a nurse had told her that she had been comatose for two years. Two whole years. Also, the nurse had told her how much her older brother visited her and missed her while she slept. She had to keep chatting happily after finding out that her brother was possibly comatose....she HAD to stay cheerful, or else her heart would've broken in two.   
  
She reached out a hand and ran her fingers along her brother's cheek. He wasn't moving besides his barely noticeable breaths. When would he wake up, if ever? What would she do until then? Her parents were no more, and her brother wasn't going to be able to help her out....Where would she stay until he awoke? What would happen to her?  
  
Aya sighed. She could hear voices outside the room and didn't see Ken, Omi, and Yohji as they entered for her back was turned, eyeing her older brother's sleeping form.  
  
"Hey..." Ken addressed her. Aya replaced her happy smile before turning to them.   
  
"Yeah?" she asked.  
  
"We were wondering..." he began, "...do you have anywhere to stay?"  
  
"Errm..." she stuttered, "I barely know you guys..." She looked down as she twiddled her thumbs.  
  
"Like we said," Yohji cut in, "we're pretty good friends with your older brother. He wouldn't be very happy if we didn't take care of his baby sister." The blonde grinned.  
  
"I can stay with you guys...?" she asked them hesitantly.   
  
"Of course!" Omi told her cheerfully. "Hopefully, Aya-kun will wake up soon, though..." he added quietly, turning to look at the man in bed.  
  
"What?" Aya asked him, thinking she heard her name.   
  
"Nothing!" he smiled nervously. "Maybe we should all go home and get some rest..."  
  
******************************  
  
Black. Everything. It tortured him. It frustrated him. There was nothing. He wanted to scream. He wanted his katana. He wanted...he wanted...his little sister to be awake and happy. He wanted her to live her life. That was good enough. He could endure this forever if it meant she would be content.  
  
He rolled over onto his side and curled up in a ball. The redhead had plenty of time to contemplate; he wondered how he could exist inside of his mind. If he held up his hand, he could see it. If there was a mirror around, he would've seen himself. But he was inside of his mind. He could think inside of his mind. Maybe this was just the way he thought, how his brain worked...Either way it made his "head" hurt thinking about it.  
  
"How are things going for you?" He didn't move at the sound of a voice echoing through the darkness. He could recognize who it was coming from. "I can probably switch things back...you look pretty miserable, and your sister doesn't look much better."  
  
"No..." he whispered, uncurling himself and sitting up, looking out at the black-haired man. "She's awake...that's what matters." He reached up and touched his earlobe; the earring was still there. It had almost become part of him over the years. He tugged on it.   
  
"If you ever wake up, you'll have gone insane already..." The red-head turned away, gaze downcast. "These two weeks have been hard on you. I can tell." Aya looked up suddenly, eyes confused.  
  
"Have I been asleep two weeks...?" The black haired man nodded slowly. The redhead seemed dazed, just like a lost little kid.   
  
"Your friends and sister come to visit you a lot...I've been watching. They're worried about you...I can change things back I just need to--"  
  
"No!!" Aya interrupted, his sudden outburst startling the man. "Aya is awake!" The man smiled sadly.   
  
'If he ever wakes up...' he thought to himself, '...that guy will be a mess on ice. I can't watch this.' He approached the trembling redhead slowly. He extended an arm, carefully poking the man in the forehead. Purple orbs rolled back in his head as his body went limp and faded away, going deeper into unconsciousness.  
  
"I'm going to switch fate back."  
  
******************************  
  
Hey, is it just me or did Aya-kun get a little pathetic by the end, there? ^^;; Whoops...Oh well, I like the way that turned out. And if YOU didn't, I don't wanna hear about it!! (Oh, and Eris, I KNOW you're reading this, so you had better FREAKING review...I KNOW where you LIVE!!) Thank you for reading, everyone!! :D  



	3. Where'd You Go?

**************************

Okay!! This is the fourth time I've started over...I am definately tired of rewriting this...._" 

(BLARGH!!! Why won't it upload my stuuupid story?! *mental breakdown*)

I do not own Weiss Kreuz.

**************************

Trade Your Fate::Act Three

**************************

The figure tapped his fingers on his desk in an annoyed fashion. "Just what did you think you were doing? Did you actually think I believed it took TWO weeks to switch TWO fates?!" 

The black haired man shrunk back from the dark sillhouette at the desk. "I was..." he began hesitantly.

"Silence!!" The figure slammed his fists down on the darkly stained desktop as he rose out of the chair. "Not only did you take two weeks to ACCOMPLISH your task, you offered to UNDO it!!" he roared in his deep and threatening voice. 

The man clenched his fists, reapproaching the wooden desk. "I refuse to continue this assignment!" he blurted out, causing the figure to relax his stance in amusement. 

"Really...? What makes you think you can do that?" The black haired man looked back in shock.

"You...only hired me for this one job!! I can quit whenever I please!!" The shadowy figure took his seat once more, laughing deeply.

"Interesting take on the situation...however, I believe you are mistaken." The man clenched his fists tighter yet, growing frustrated with his employer's counter-argument. "Your assignment has not yet been completed. We agreed that you would complete your specified task. You have not done so. No conditions were established for droppping the job, therefore there are none." His devilish grin was visible, even through the veil of shadows that surrounded him. "I expect the task to be completed within the next week."

The dark haired man heaved a heavy and frustrated sigh before muttering "...Yes, sir."

*************************

"Where the heck...?" Schuldich muttered, surprised. He blinked. "That isn't right..." he grumbled as he strolled from the ice cream parlor. He had searched through that jerk Fujimiya's mind three times for clues to where his body was, only to be steered incorrectly every time...He plopped down on the bench in front of the store, frustrated.

He tiredly rested his head in his hands, running his fingers through the long orange locks. "..If I were comatose..." he asked himself quietly, "...where would I be...?" He was silent in thought for a moment. Suddenly, he looked up, feeling himself have an epiphany.

"Damnit...!" He was off the bench in an instant, heading for the hospital.

**************************

She wiped her hands off on the apron she was wearing, smearing dirt on the yellow; it was really her older brother's apron, but none of the three men felt it was necessary to mention. 

"Hey!" she chriped to Omi. The blonde looked up from his watering can. 

"Yeah?"

"Let's go visit Ran-nii today!!"

***************************

"Look what I found..." The German strolled over to the hospital bed casually; there wasn't a soul around, though practically the entirety of the room was filled with flowers. "Somebody loves you, Fujimiya." He smirked as he reached down to touch the cheek of the pale red head.

He ran his fingers along the man's cheek; his skin was cool. "Hmm..." he withdrew his hand and stood straight. He pulled over the only chair in the room and sat down. "Let me see..." he began thoughtfully, "...what kind trouble can I get into today?" After a moment's consideration, he stood up meaningfully. He glanced to his watch: 7:30. It was dark outside...perfect. 

He leaned out of the doorway of the room a bit, looking both ways down the hall. Nobody around...at all. "Ch...to perfect." With that, he strode back to the bed and scooped up the comatose Weiss-leader into his arms. After slinging the man over his shoulder, the Schwarz member went for the door of the room. Jumping out the window would've been difficult with the extra load...

***************************

Aya-chan sighed; her older brother was going on three weeks, now, of unconcsiousness. Yohji, Ken, and Omi, who were walking along behind her, had accompanied the girl to the hospital tonight. 

The group piled into the elevator; it was a tight fit since there was already a little old lady inside...The gray haired woman donned a little smirk as she stepped a bit closer to Yohji. 

"Why, hello there, young man..." The blonde sighed as the woman batted her eyelashes at him. "My, you have such a muscular build..." Behind his nervous grin, he was cursing himself for wearing the low jeans and the short-sleeved shirt, today... 

"Yohji-kun, you have an admirer!" Omi laughed as Ken and Aya-chan broke into hysterics. 

"Don't turn her down, Yohji-san...she IS over eighteen.." Aya managed in between laughs. 

"That's not funny..." Yohji sighed, putting a hand through his long hair. The lady gave a flirtatious goodbye to the blonde before getting off the elevator on the thrid floor. The doors slid shut once more as the elevator continued its ascent. As it came to rest on the fourth floor, Aya-chan inhaled deeply. The laughing fit had helped calm her nerves, but she had a bad feeling inside of her...

She hurried down the hall, almost jogging, as she was eager to see that her older brother was alright. Her thumping heartbeat slowed as she grasped the doorknob to the room, hearing Yohji, Omi, and Ken hurrying up behind her. She swung the door wide open, bright smile quickly fading. Both of her hands flew up to her mouth as she gasped.

"Aya-chan...? You okay?!" Ken called down the hall to her. The three ran up behind her and peeked inside the room. Yohji uttered a single word as he eyed the empty hostpital bed before them:

"Shit."

*************************

Bwaaahh....*head is spinny* Thank god I finally got this finished.....Probably another part or two will take care of this story....Thanks for reading, and sorry for the inhumane wait!! ^^;;


	4. Where Are You Taking Me?

***************************

Story time!! Everybody sit cross-legged on the floor!! (What's that? Nobody reading this is in preschool anymore? ^^;;)

I do not own Weiss Kreuz. (Umi is mucho tired of proclaiming that, no matter how true it is...)

***************************

Trade Your Fate::Act Four

***************************

"....I can't believe what a fool he is...." the man laughed into the receiver of the phone. His wrinkled face creased as he smiled evilly. "You were right...he is spineless!! I can probably get him to do whatever job I want, just by asking in a loud voice!!" He laughed deeply, leaning over onto his desk.

"Hmmm?...He should be taking care of it right now, in fact.. ....That's ridiculous!! Those assassins will never figure out what's going on, before it's too late...."

***************************

"Nii-chan..." she whispered, eyes still staring at the empty bed. The three men behind her were just as surprised, if not more. 

"What the....?" Ken asked quietly. Omi stepped through the crowd of people in the doorway and looked around the room, hoping to find any clue he could. He got down on his knees and searched the floor, got up and examined the bed, etc... He sighed heavily turning back to the others.

"Yohji-kun!" The blonde snapped back to reality, suddenly. "Go ask at the desk down the hall. See if they noticed any suspicious people around today." He nodded, turning to leave. "Ken-kun, you stay here with Aya-chan." The brunette nodded numbly. "I'm going to ask around."

The boy walked down the hallway, keeping an eye out for anyone he suspected of seeing something. He stopped abruptly, seeing a nurse come out of one of the rooms.

"Excuse me..." he began, politely. "...I'm looking for some friends of mine that are supposed to be meeting me here. Have you seen anyone around?" She looked thoughtful, hugging her brown clipboard close to her.

"Hmm...I did see a man with orange hair, earlier...Is that any help?" Jackpot. Omi nodded.

"Yes, thank you very much..." What luck, he told himself, to find such a potent piece of evidence on the first try. "Hmmm..." he looked around, hoping to find some more tidbits to add. He spied a man in a black business suit coming down the hall towards him. "Excuse me!!" he called down to the man. He looked up as Omi came towards him.

"Yes?" He pushed a piece of black hair out of his eyes.

"I'm looking for some friends of mine that are supposed to meet me around here...Have you seen anyone around?" The man's dark eyes gleamed.

"Come to think, I did." The hacker's blue eyes shined in anticipation. "...A man in a white suit. I saw him when I was coming in. He looked like he was going to the park. It was strange, really...he had someone slung over his shoulder..." he trailed off. The blonde's eyes widened.

"Thank you for your help." He gave a quick bow and took off down the hall, back the way he had come.

The man tucked his hands in the pockets of his business suit, eyebrows furrowed in worry. "I hope that was enough...." he sighed. "At this rate, I'll never be able to change fate back..."

***************************

Ken patted Aya on the shoulder reassuringly. "Don't worry...we'll find A--Ran..." It was so difficult to not call the red head Aya. Aya-chan leaned over in her chair, resting her head on her arms on the side of the empty bed.

"Nii-chan....where are you?" she whispered. Things had been getting worse everyday. First, she learns her older brother is in a coma. Then, he goes missing, to top it off... She sighed, burying her face in her arms.

"Ken-kuuun!!!" The brunette's head snapped around as Omi bounded into the room. He looked apprehensive, motioning the former goalie out into the hall. As soon as they were out of Aya-chan's range of hearing, Omi began to tell Ken of what he had discovered.

"So it was Schwarz..." he mumbled. 

"Yeah, and that guy even said he saw Schuldich carrying Aya-kun!! He said they were going for the park!! We have to find Yohji-kun and--"

"--And?" Both assassins turned to find the afore-mentioned blonde.

"Schuldich kidnapped Aya!!" His sunglasses fell down his nose. 

"Well what are we waiting for? Let's get moving, ne?" 

"What about Aya-chan?" Omi asked, looking back to the hospital room. 

"Maybe we should take her home..."

"No, we just have to leave her here. There isn't enough time." They nodded at each other before taking off down the hall.

******************************

Schuldich strolled through the park idly; it was a warm night and the stars were out. He shifted the assassin over his shoulder, the load becoming annoying to carry. He spied a bench along the path ahead. Smirking, he quickened his pace.

Upon reaching the bench, he let the red head slide off his shoulder onto it, head lolling backwards. The German dusted his hands off and sat down besides the comatose man. He crossed his legs and leaned back, looking up to the sky.

"Nice night, eh?" he asked with a sly grin. Schuldich ran a hand through his orange hair, deciding he needed some entertainment. He let himself fall into the swordsman's mind, quickly being surrounded by blackness. He shoved his hands into his pockets and glanced around. Still black, just the way he had left it. Surprisingly, he could not see the owner anywhere inside. Growing bored, he left, finding himself on the park bench once more.

*******************************

Omi, Yohji, and Ken ran down the street in a pack. It was rather dark, now. Yohji looked down to his watch: 9:00 flashed in green numbering. His long coat flapped behind him as he followed the other two Weiss members towards the park.

They ran right through the gate, seeing the park deserted. Each one of them took a different path at the fork, hoping to find Schuldich before he left, even if the chances were slim.

*******************************

Schuldich gathered the red head in his arms once more before abandoning the bench completely and continuing on his way. He felt three more minds in the park as he walked. Each was filled with thoughts of finding the assassin he had slung over his shoulder. He grinned, deciding to make things interesting for them.

'Weiss...' he called to them mentally, hearing background noise from their individual minds disappearing instantly. 'Come find me, if you can...'

'Schuldich!!!' each assassin's mind screamed, almost in sync. He broke the connection quickly, leaving them to look on their own.

*******************************

"Hey." Omi snapped around, crossbow in a perfect position to take someone's head off. His blue eyes widened, not seeing Schuldich, as he had anticipated. A black haired man was there, instead, his pale skin standing out against black suit and hair.

"Wait," he began. "You were at the hospital!!" He lowered the crossbow, eyeing the man suspiciously. "What are you doing here?" The man smiled softly.

"Just here to help." The boy's hand tightened around the crossbow. 

"Why do you know so much about all of this...?" he asked. The man's dark eyes gleamed, almost mischievously.

"Go that way." He pointed down a path, in another direction. The hacker blinked.

"Huh?"

"That way. Your friend is that way." Omi turned to look down the path.

"But--" he stopped abruptly as he turned again. The man had vanished. He sighed, turning to run down the path indicated by him.

'We're coming, Aya-kun.'

******************************

He snorted taking the swordsman off his right shoulder and shifting him onto the left, instead. The red head was so damn heavy...

He felt a mental pang as a certain thought pattern drew nearer to him. He turned, just in time to see Bombay coming up the path, crossbow gripped tightly. The hacker stopped a few feet away.

"Schuldich!!" he cried. "Let Aya-kun go!!" He pointed his crossbow expertly, more amusing the German than frightening him.

"Ch, don't hit your friend with that, Weiss."

******************************

Graaah...that was kind of a 'setting up' chapter. I guarantee you the next will be more interesting!! The next will probably be the last, too, so don't touch that dial!! Thank you for reading!! :D


	5. ...Now what?

****************************

*Umi appears, suddenly* KATAN!!!! Hihi everybody!! This part is being written early because....today is Umi's birthday!! YAAAY!!!!!

I do not own Weiss Kreuz.

****************************

Trade Your Fate::Act Five

****************************

Aya sighed; Ken, Omi, and Yohji had been gone so long...maybe they had disappeared, too, just like Ran...She straightened up, taking her weight off the side of the bed. Climbing to her feet she glanced up at the clock on the wall: 9:05. They really had been gone a long time...

The girl peeked out into the hall and looked both ways. There wasn't anyone around, at all...Aya walked out of the room and down the hall a ways, deciding she would go back to the flower shop. Everyone would have to come home at SOME point...

"Excuse me..."

"Hmm?" She turned to face a man with dark hair and pale skin, dressed in a black business suit. "Yes?" she repeated, eyeing his friendly smile wearily.

"Pardon my bluntness, but...I know where your older brother is." Her eyes widened.

"Where is he?!" she asked immediately, hands clasped tightly over her chest. His smile did not waver as he tucked a hand into the pocket of the suit.

"I'll take you there."

****************************

"Just drop it kid; I know you won't shoot." Omi's hand shook slightly, but did not loosen its grasp on the crossbow.

"Let Aya-kun go," he repeated. Schuldich smirked in response.

****************************

"Wait..." she told him. He raised an eyebrow. "...How do you know where Ran is? And how did you know he was gone?" He grinned and tapped the side of his head. The man turned and began walking down the hall once more.

****************************

"Omi!!" The boy's head jerked around, arm still holding the crossbow level with the German's throat. 

"Ken-kun!! Yohji-kun!!" The two men were running towards him through the trees, panting. Both took up defensive stances around Omi, warily eyeing Schuldich and the man draped over his shoulder.

****************************

Aya jogged down the hallway after the man, having second thoughts. "So...you decided to come after all." His smile was still present, yet he walked faster.

"Why are you taking me to Ran...?" she asked finally as they stepped into the forth floor elevator. He turned to look at her, smile beginning to fade.

"I think you deserve the entire story."

*****************************

"Schuldich." The Schwarz member stole a glance behind to find the source of the voice. "I see you've caught something," Crawford continued, rubbing the spots from his glasses with a piece of cloth. Nagi and Farfarello approached behind him.

"What...? This old thing?" He jerked his head towards Aya, smirking. He shifted the red head to the other shoulder once more. 

"Very nice. Bring him along." 

"No!!" Omi cried, desperation setting in.

*****************************

"You switched my fate with his...?" she asked disbelievingly as they stepped off of the hospital grounds, preparing to cross the street. He nodded, watching the traffic carefully. "But why can't you just switch them back...?"

"You and your brother both need to be in the same place as me, or else I can't do it. Before, I brought him into your hospital room...now that he's missing...."

"So, when we find Ran, you'll change fate back and he'll wake up...?" She scampered across the street after him, heading towards the park. He nodded.

"One thing...you will fall back into your coma in exchange for his waking up." She was silent as they walked, considering this.

"...Will I ever wake up again?" He did not answer right away, fearing to divulge such information.

"....Yes, you will, but neither you nor anyone should know. Not even me. It doesn't matter, though..."

"Hmm? Why not?"

"...When fate is returned to it's proper alignment, no memory will remain of it ever being changed."

"Why?"

"I don't know...that's how it's always been..."

"...You've changed fate before?" He nodded as they entered into the lush green trees of the park.

"Of course. I've had the ability all my life...I always end up changing things back, though..." the last part of his sentence was only whispered as his dark eyes watched the ground.

******************************

"Take him; we'll deal with Weiss." Schuldich smirked, turning to leave as Farfarello charged Ken and things began to float around Nagi. 

"Ja, Weiss!!" He waved mockingly before turning to leave the scene; the man he was carrying was making his shoulders sore. 

"Hey!!" Aya-chan cried stepping in front of Schuldich. "Put Ran down!!" she commanded with an almost childish tone. He smirked, brushing some orange hair from his eyes; he had known from her thoughts she was coming, and there was someone with her...

"Pardon me. Do you mind?" He turned to find a dark haired man with a small smile, eyes closed.(---Umi: Think Xellos from Slayers, okay?!)

'I think you want to move...' he whispered into the minds of the two of them. Aya-chan blinked, thinking he MUST have said that out loud; the black haired man looked surprised, also, but continued, undaunted. He turned to Aya-chan.

"...Do you want me to wake your brother up?" Her eyes stared back into his, determination shining through.

"...Yes," she told him, knowing what was next but fearing it all the same. He nodded.

"Then he'll wake up." Aya-chan felt her knees grow weak as everything began to fade from sight.

********************************

"Aya-chan!!" Omi cried from his place pinned against a tree. Nagi did not even spare the girl a glance as he increased the pressure against the boy. Yohji gasped in surprise as he glanced away from Crawford's fist to see what was going on. Ken managed to get Farfarello just far enough back to look over the man's shoulder. Each one was just in time to see her fall onto the ground, unconscious.

********************************

The black haired man stood in the middle of the battlefield, watching everything unfold, becoming slower and slower...until suddenly, time seemed to be going backwards, the colors around him fading into bleak shades of gray. He knew better than to say time was reversing, though, after watching it happen so many times...everything was merely returning to it's proper place...

It was more curious to him this time, for he had never left two fates switched for such a long period of time...Silently, he wondered how things would turn out when everything was "back to normal," as he called it...

All four members of Schwarz disappeared from the scene, no doubt returning to their headquarters. Next, Aya-chan vanished from her place on the ground; certainly, she would go back to the hospital...Yohji, Ken, and Omi disappeared in unison, much as Schwarz had done but he wondered where they would land....

He turned back to the only one left besides himself; the red head who had began this entire escapade by agreeing to "the circumstances." He ran a hand through his black hair thoughtfully, wondering why the man hadn't vanished yet...

Suddenly, a thought struck him. Maybe fate couldn't decide where the red head should go...after all, he had been living his sister's fate for quite a while...Aya-chan had returned to her proper place, though...

Before he could muse any further, the man vanished from sight. The park became lush and green again as fate returned to the way it was meant to be.

*********************************

His eyelids twitched suddenly. They cracked open slightly, revealing his purple orbs for a moment before they crashed down over his eyes once more. The red head drew them open yet again, this time blinking slowly at the moonlight that fell on the sheets in front of him. 

He had to force his stiff body to sit up in bed, wondering where he was. Aya glanced around the room; it looked like a hospital. Sure enough, he was in a bed, in a room, in a hospital. It was his own room, and not his sister's for once...but how had this happened?

He leaned forwards, burying his face in the palm of his hand; his other grasped a wad of the bed-sheets frustratedly. The red head thought for a moment but could not remember any reason to be in a hospital....

The door to the room opened suddenly, the overhead light coming on and illuminating what the full moon had not. Tiredly, the man lifted his head from his hand to see who had entered. His eyes met with three other sets.

"Aya-kun!!" Omi exclaimed. Hurrying over to the side of bed. Yohji and Ken followed behind him.

"Oi, Aya," Yohji began, pushing his sunglasses higher on his nose, "....you take long naps." The red head looked up at the three of them dazedly.

"What's going on...?" he asked carefully, genuinely confused. The three men looked down on him, also a bit confused.

"..Aya," Ken began hesitantly, "...you were in a coma for two and a half weeks."

***************************

The man peered into the room carefully; he dare not get any closer. Listening to the conversation of those inside was enough. He smiled; fate hadn't been too far of when replacing the red head, so this would have to do. He turned away from the door, debating over what he would tell his employer about all of this...

His mission had been to change the fates of all in Weiss to incapacitate the team, therefore clearing the final roadblock in the way of his employer's plot. He had chosen to change the red head's fate first for it seemed the easiest of the four....yet even as he preformed the act did he realize what he had told Aya-chan earlier: he always ended up changing fate back. 

This had held true, for him, and he hoped it always would....but perhaps, he told himself, he would change his employer's fate with a piece of roadkill, just for the sake of experimentation...

****************************

The end!! Waaaaaa!!! Did everyone like it alright? If you did, I'd love to hear your comments!! Just click the pretty purple button, down there...as for the rest of you, I don't care!! Thank you for reading, have a nice day, and happy birthday to me!!! :D 


End file.
